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Eight technical staff had been whittled down to two, he said, although the Defence Department said seven technical staff had reduced to three.

"Two people are straddling much longer than the average working day," Mr Ayres said.

He was sceptical about how long it would take to fill the shortage.

"It takes 6 months to train one of these people," Mr Ayres said.

A Defence Department spokesperson said the shortfall was caused by a lack of interest during recruitment.

"To manage the risk associated with this shortage additional uniformed Air Force technical personnel have been augmenting the maintenance workforce while a more permanent solution is pursued," the spokesperson said.

"Risk is further managed by confining the maintenance focus to key items including radar, navigational aids and communications equipment and by reducing (air traffic control) operational hours."

The Australian government is already experiencing a drought of experienced technical staff to support defence operations.

"On October 20 the Australian Public Service work, health and safety representative issued a cease work notice (at Albatross) in accordance with the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011," the spokesperson said.

"[Air Traffic Control] services were ceased, however the airfield continued to operate utilising a common traffic advisory frequency.